Does your veterinarian care about animals? Not if he or
she follows the guidelines and policies of the American Veterinary
Medical Association. Check out the AVMA website listing all AVMA
official policies:
www.avma.org/care4pets/morewelf.htm#about

The American Veterinary Medical Association has an
Animal Welfare Committee that is supposed to write animal welfare
policies to protect animals from inhumane treatment. However, the AVMA
Animal Welfare Committee is composed of pro-industry veterinarians who
have more interest in economics than the humane treatment of animals.
According to the AVMA, "The Committee has 13 members who represent small
animal practice, swine practice, private equine clinical practice,
private food animal clinical practice, poultry medicine, laboratory
animal medicine, government service, humane or animal welfare
organizations, industrial veterinary medicine, veterinary education and
research, pet bird medicine, zoo and wildlife medicine, and the student
AVMA." (1) Please notice. The majority of animals treated by
veterinarians are cats and dogs. Yet only one practitioner represents
small animals on the AVMA Animal Welfare Committee. Small animal
practitioners tend to be more sympathetic to individual animals but they
are overwhelmed by industry veterinarians on the Committee. Read on!

The AVMA does not recognize any animal rights and has
been a scathing critic of anyone wishing to address the inherent needs
of animals. McDonald's required its suppliers to enlarge the size of the
hen's cage and to stop forced molting. However, the AVMA still supports
forced molting and tiny cages. The AVMA states, "Housing Layer Chickens
in Cages: The current use of cages to house layer chickens should be
continued, and present knowledge is not sufficient to support a radical
change or ban of this system." WHY? A poultry industry veterinarian is
on the AVMA Animal Welfare Committee. (2)

Coca Cola has withdrawn its rodeo sponsorship after
viewing violent tapes of rodeo events and reading descriptions of
injuries to rodeo animals described by meat inspectors, according to Dr.
Peggy Larson and Mr. Steve Hindi. Coke was extremely concerned about
rodeo animal violence

and its effect on children. The AVMA was presented with
the same information and yet continues to adamantly support rodeo. WHY?
A pro-rodeo veterinarian, a spokesperson for the Professional Rodeo
Cowboys Association, is on the AVMA Animal Welfare Committee. (3)

The AVMA does consider the steel-jaw leghold trap to be
inhumane. However, the wildlife veterinarian sitting on the AVMA Animal
Welfare Committee wants that policy changed to allow use of the
steel-jawed leghold trap. WHY? A pro-trapper is on the AVMA Animal
Welfare Committee. (4) This same individual advocated shooting feral
cats as a solution to the feral cat problem

The AVMA acknowledges that there are "spectator events
involving animals where injuries may occur" but continues to support
these events, including Greyhound racing, the Iditarod, roadside animal
parks (notorious for their poor animal care), rodeo (five horses were
killed in rodeo events last year and the dead and injured bovines are
not even counted), polo, horse racing (a dirty business where horses are
killed by veterinarians for insurance money), cutting, reining, jumping
and field trials. The AVMA merely condemns the practice of "soring"
horses but does not consider it inhumane even though the federal
government (USDA) considers this practice in violation of the Animal
Welfare Act. "Soring" is deliberately causing pain in the front feet of
Tennessee Walkers to make them step higher. WHY? Veterinarians favoring
animal use in spectator events are on the AVMA Animal Welfare Committee
(5)

The AVMA supports the "Use of Random-Source Dogs and
Cats for Research, Testing, and Education." "The AVMA believes that
there is ample justification for the prudent and humane use of
random-source animals in veterinary medical education and biomedical
research." WHY?

A research veterinarian is on the AVMA Animal Welfare
Committee. (6) No pound dog or cat is safe from the AVMA!

The AVMA supports the use of biologic specimens, cats,
frogs and other animals, in pre-college education. With the help of the
Association of Veterinarians for Animal Rights, many educational
institutions are opting for non-animal specimens. WHY? A research
veterinarian is on the AVMA Animal Welfare Committee. (7)

The AVMA "defends and promotes the use of animals in
meaningful research, testing and education programs." Education programs
use either live or dead animals as teaching aids. WHY? A research
veterinarian is on the AVMA Animal Welfare Committee. (8)

The "AVMA commends livestock and poultry producers,
animal scientists, and veterinarians who have advanced the science of
animal agriculture to the benefit of animals and mankind." To this end,
the AVMA supports the confinement rearing of livestock and poultry." The
AVMA supports raising veal calves in small stalls where they cannot turn
around and are fed an unbalanced diet to make "white veal," pigs
confined in crates, calves fattened in feedlots where they are fed
antibiotics, laying hens confined in tiny cages, and PMU farming where
pregnant mares are confined to small stalls for 6 months and their foals
are sold to slaughter. WHY? Livestock industry veterinarians are on the
AVMA Animal Welfare Committee. (9)

THE AVMA CHOOSES ECONOMICS OVER ANIMAL PROTECTION. THE
AVMA EXISTS TO PROTECT PRO-INDUSTRY VETERINARIANS AT THE EXPENSE OF
HUMANE TREATMENT OF ANIMALS! THE AVMA IS NOT YOUR ANIMAL'S FRIEND.

If you are concerned about the AVMA policies, contact
the American Veterinary Medical Association at:

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